Over a month after bus fire, AP clears ex-gratia for victims

Andhra Pradesh Government today sanctioned an ex-gratia of Rs one lakh each to the kin of 44 passengers who were charred to death in a ghastly road mishap in Mahbubnagar district on October 30.

The passengers were on their way to Hyderabad from Bengaluru when the ill-fated Volvo bus they were travelling in caught fire, killing them instantly, near Palem village in the district, about 100km from the state capital.
The kin of the victims staged a protest outside Transport Minister Botsa Satyanarayana's residence last week demanding payment of compensation and action against the private bus operator. The Government had all along maintained that the kin would get insurance payment. Today, however, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy announced Rs one lakh each as ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased, a release from his office said.
 The Crime Investigation Department (CID) and a three- member committee of IAS officers are conducting separate probes into the cause of the gruesome accident.